Morning, y’all!

You may have seen the first AP Top 25 poll was released yesterday.

Another sign that we are SO CLOSE to football. Should I begin a countdown in this newsletter? Stay tuned.

Georgia will start out the season ranked No. 3, the highest-ranked SEC team. Apparently, though, in another story with a different style of rankings, ESPN has some trust issues with the Bulldogs.

ESPN put four teams in its “Tier 1, Safest Bets” category: Indiana, Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State, while Oregon and Texas were grouped with Georgia in the “Tier 2, Trust Issues” category.

Hmmm.

Obviously it’s still just talking season, and we’ll know a lot more about this Georgia team’s potential once games start being played.

But let’s explore these tiers for a second:

Georgia football just isn’t what it used to be, according to an ESPN evaluation of the 138 Football Bowl Subdivision-level teams.

Of course, the odds are against any program — much less UGA — going 35-2 against Power 5 teams over a three-year span like the Bulldogs did between 2021-23.

ESPN noted Georgia is 18-5 against power conference teams over the past two seasons, with an average margin of victory that’s less than half as much as the previous three seasons.

Such data was used to illustrate that, despite maintaining SEC-favorite status, UGA has been susceptible to the relative parity brought about in this recent NIL/transfer portal era.

Per the story, authored by David Hale, coaches Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin had an exchange following the 2025 spring session where each coach told the other “we stink.”

Kiffin elaborated that no team will compare to the talent-laden teams Alabama had between 2014-16 and a Bulldogs’ 2021-2023 run that produced back-to-back College Football Playoff championships and 33 NFL draft picks, including 10 first-round selections.

ESPN pointed out that 11 different schools have won games in the College Football Playoff since Georgia’s most recent playoff victory, a 65-7 blowout over TCU in the CFP championship game following the 2022 season.

ESPN also noted that Smart has “hinted at his reluctance to pay big money to incoming freshmen and over the past three offseason cycles has taken (and lost) the fewest transfers in the SEC,” with 30 incoming transfers and 43 departures.

This season’s production from Georgia transfers has already taken a hit with two of the Bulldogs’ portal additions, Auburn defensive end Amaris Williams (knee) and Kentucky tailback Dante Dowdell (accident), out indefinitely.

Hale allows for the possibility Smart might still win another national championship this season, despite the recent drop off from dominance.

But if that’s to happen, Smart himself has suggested the Bulldogs will need to be more explosive on offense this season and generate more of a pass rush.

ESPN provided data to back up the Georgia head coach in that respect:

• UGA ranked 126th out of 134 FBS teams on passing yardage that came on throws more than 10 yards downfield (39% of the passing yards). Indeed, many of the 81 catches made by departing wideout Zachariah Branch last season were on short throws, as he gained 634 of his 811 (78%) of his receiving yards after making the catch.
• Georgia’s pressure rate on non-blitz dropbacks vs. Power 4 teams was 24.5%, ranking 63rd out of 68 Power 4 schools.
• The Bulldogs had nine sacks when it didn’t blitz last season, down from 21 in 2024 and the 2021 team’s 36.

Read Mike Griffith’s full story here.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart observes his team during their first fall football practice on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart (center) observes his team during their first fall football practice on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Coach Kirby Smart (center) gives instructions during the first fall football practice for the Bulldogs on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Georgia coach Kirby Smart (left) watches tight end Elyiss Williams during their first fall football practice on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Athens. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Now, for our opinion on these ‘tiers’ …

In Tuesday’s “On the Beat” episode, Cody Chaffins and Mike Griffith dug into both the AP poll rankings and ESPN’s tier system.

They also talked about what they’re hearing after Georgia’s first scrimmage, and got into what Smart must get worked out in the next 40 days before their first big game of the season against Oklahoma.

Later, they discussed Mike’s zoomed-out view on the rest of the Top 25. He’s a voter this year, so he will give us his ballot.

“On the Beat” airs every Monday at 7 p.m. — you can watch Tuesday’s episode here or on our YouTube channel.

On the Beat airs every Monday at 7 p.m. (DawgNation)

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Trivia time

From 2019-2025, Georgia set a school record with a home winning streak of how many games?

Georgia ticket prices increase as college football season heats up

As hot as the weather has been, college football tickets are even hotter — and Georgia football games are no exception.

Fans wanting to buy tickets on the cheap, via the secondary market for Bulldogs games, might want to get in on the early action, as UGA home ticket prices increase appreciably deeper into the season.

Georgia’s first two home games feature relatively inexpensive get-in (lowest price available) tickets, at $51 per tickets in a pair (per StubHub, as of Monday) for the season-opening game against Tennessee State and $53 for Western Kentucky at UGA.

It’s important to note the secondary ticket pricing is very fluid. Prices can and will fluctuate from one minute to another, and often sharply increase or decrease as the season progresses based on the outcomes of games or weather trends.

Hot tickets aren’t exclusive to the SEC.

Two of the four games with get-in prices of more than $600 per ticket in a pair (per StubHub, as of Monday) are outside of the league.

In addition to the Week 2 matchup between Ohio State and Texas in Austin ($622 per ticket) and the Nov. 27 Texas at Texas A&M game ($613), there’s the Nov. 7 game featuring Miami at Notre Dame ($604) and the Oct. 17 game that sees Notre Dame traveling to play BYU ($636).

The most expensive get-in priced ticket for a Georgia home game is the Sept. 26 SEC home opener against Oklahoma ($339).

The Bulldogs’ road game at Ole Miss is currently has the most expensive get-in price for any of Georgia’s games at $351.

For a look at the secondary market pricing on StubHub for all of Georgia’s regular-season games, along with other high-priced get-in prices at various sites each weekend of college football, read Mike’s full story here.

And for a look at Sanford Stadium, because I’m so excited for game days I can’t take it, scroll down:

Georgia coach Kirby Smart (right) and his players run onto the field before their game against Texas at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Athens. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Georgia fans cheer during the G-Day spring football game at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Athens. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Fans celebrate after Georgia scores against Texas during their game at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Athens. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Georgia players and staff arrive during the Dawg Walk to their game against Texas at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Athens. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

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Trivia answer

33